Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Welterweight

Welterweight

After his triumphant Nov. 17 return against Carlos Condit, many
quickly speculated if GSP would next be occupied by defending his
title against Johny Hendricks, or if he would meet Anderson Silva
in their much-ballyhooed superfight. The answer? Neither. St.
Pierre will settle his beef with former would-be challenger Nick
Diaz on March 16 in Montreal.

A soft touch for the recently bloodied title challenger? A
quick-and-dirty tune-up fight? No way. “The Natural Born Killer” is
right back to work just weeks after his bout against St. Pierre.
Condit is set to rematch fast-rising welterweight prospect Rory
MacDonald, who he stopped in the third round of their entertaining
June 2010 bout.

Following his Nov. 17 decimation of Martin Kampmann, Johny
Hendricks seemed like the most likely next challenger for the UFC
welterweight title. However, whether owing more to business
financials or the whims of the UFC and Georges St. Pierre, “The
Bigg Rigg” will need to bide his time against tough top-10 entrant
Jake Ellenberger at UFC 158 in March, while GSP defends his crown
against Nick Diaz.

He hasn’t fought in nearly a year and lost his last bout. However,
the beef between Nick Diaz and Georges St. Pierre -- as well as the
investment in their previously scheduled bout -- has led the UFC to
give Diaz his second straight crack at 170-pound gold come UFC 158
in March.

Jon Fitch seldom gets any favors in the matchmaking department, and
his next outing is no different. After persevering in thrilling
fashion against prospect Erick Silva in October, Fitch is back
against another Brazilian on Feb. 2, taking on former middleweight
title challenger Demian Maia at UFC 156.

After 12 months spent clawing his way into contention with three
straight wins over quality welterweights, Kampmann’s title hopes
were dashed in less than a minute at UFC 154. The heavy left hand
of Johny Hendricks dealt the Danish “Hitman” his first clean
knockout loss and sent Kampmann back down the 170-pound ladder for
the time being.

It looked like Jake Ellenberger’s welterweight title dreams might
have gone up in flames when he was knocked out by Martin Kampmann
in June. He has since earned a unanimous verdict on Jay Hieron,
putting him in position for a much larger, important bout with
Johny Hendricks at UFC 158 on March 16.

On the road to recovery from a bulging disc in his back that forced
him out of a bout with Jake Ellenberger, Koscheck is eying a return
to the Octagon in early 2013. In a recent post on his Twitter
account, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 alumnus mentioned Nick
Diaz, Demian Maia, Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald as the opponents
he would most like to face.

In between making fun of 170-pound compatriot Rory MacDonald’s
dress code and harassing Dana White on Twitter, Bellator’s
bushy-haired champ has signed on to defend his title against Season
6 welterweight winner Karl Amoussou. The Olympian Askren will also
subscribe to Voluntary Anti-Doping Association testing for his
second Bellator title defense.

In the biggest fight of his young career, Rory MacDonald destroyed
faded icon B.J. Penn over 15 one-sided minutes at the UFC on Fox 5.
After a dominant display, MacDonald called out former tormentor
Carlos Condit, who bested him in June 2010. The young Canadian will
get the chance to avenge his lone career loss March 16 at UFC 158
in Montreal.